Books like Paper wishes by Lois Sepahban
Set during World War II’s internment of Japanese‑Americans, "Paper Wishes" follows young Manami, her parents, and Grandfather as they are uprooted from their New York home and sent to the bleak Manzanar camp in the California desert. The story depicts the harsh reality of forced removal, the family’s efforts to preserve dignity, and the children’s psychological challenges, including selective mutism, as they navigate new hardships and seek a sense of belonging.
"Paper Wishes" offers a sensitive portrayal of family life, cultural identity, and the enduring strength of the human spirit in the face of injustice, drawing readers into the historical context of the United States and the plight of Japanese Americans during the war.
First publish date: 2016
Genre: History/Modern History
Authors: Lois Sepahban
★
★
★
★
★
0.0 (0 community ratings)
How are these books recommended?
The books recommended for Paper wishes by Lois Sepahban are shaped by reader interaction. Votes on how closely books relate, user ratings, and community comments all help refine these recommendations and highlight books readers genuinely find similar in theme, ideas, and overall reading experience.
Have you read any of these books?
Your votes, ratings, and comments help improve recommendations and make it easier
for other readers to discover books they’ll enjoy.
Books similar to Paper wishes (17 similar books)
In 1943 Copenhagen, ten‑year‑old Annemarie Johansen helps her Jewish friend Ellen Rosen escape Nazi persecution, learning courage and resilience while navigating war‑time hardships.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Mexican farm workers must adjust to life in California during the Great Depression.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A nine‑year‑old girl named Ada escapes her abusive home amid World War II, joining her brother in London’s evacuation; she learns to ride a pony, reads, and finds a new family with Susan Smith while watching for German spies.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A luminous twins’ story of love, loss, and family that follows Jude and Noah from carefree adolescence to a painful rift, as each seeks healing and a return to one another.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A diverse group of city residents turns a neglected urban lot in Cleveland into a thriving garden, discovering friendship and renewal along the way.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Molly's father tries to make Christmas special, even when he's away serving in a war hospital.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
During World War II, a Japanese‑American boy learns to play baseball while living in an internment camp; the game becomes a key to his resilience and future after the war.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Twelve‑year‑old Tomi’s world is shattered after Pearl Harbor when her Japanese‑American family is split and sent from California to internment camps in New Mexico and Colorado.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
In September 1944, eleven‑year‑old Billie waits for her brother Leo to return from boot camp. When Leo brings a Navajo friend, Denny, and a wounded dog named Bear, the trio’s bond bridges family, friendship and the warfront.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
In 1950s Pittsburgh, young Franny, recovering from polio, discovers a peculiar friendship with a flea named Fleabrain, a bond that leads her to question animal research and the nature of imagination.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A free‑verse novel that follows thirteen‑year‑old Mina Tagawa and her Japanese‑American family as they leave their Seattle home, endure internment in Idaho, and endure three years of hardship.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A boy grapples with loss, war, and identity when his family is relocated from Hawaii to California after Pearl Harbor.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Twelve‑year‑old Ben Uchida records his daily life as a prisoner at Mirror Lake Internment Camp, a California holding site for Japanese Americans during World War II.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Your Eyes in Stars follows the unlikely friendship between a German outsider and the daughter of a prison warden in a small New York town, as their bond is tested by the haunting nightly bugle calls of a life‑serving inmate during the World War II era.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Ten‑year‑old Yuki, forced into an internment camp, joins the U.S. Army’s 442nd Regimental Combat Team, a segregated Japanese‑American unit fighting in World War II.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Some Other Similar Books
When the Stars Fall from the Sky by Caroline RoseClayton County by Sarah Weeks
Hurricane Dancers: The First Caribbean Pirates by Margarita Engle
The Watcher: Jane Goodall's Life with the Chimps by Jeanette Winter
The Bracelet by Meindert DeJong
Have a similar book in mind? Let others know!
Please login to submit books!